It has been a few crazy weeks since i’ve posted after spending many late nights trying to finish my thesis, as well as putting together presentations for conferences around Australia coming up, but I have found time as I really wanted to promote an article I read in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that was published this year titled:

Now, I personally do not engage regularly in yoga – I have on occasion and really enjoyed it, and really do promote it to women, people with back issues or core-stability weakness and those who like a group environment. Not only is it relaxing, there are emerging benefits coming from scientific research which is great.

This study made women partake in Hatha yoga for 2x 90 minute sessions per week for 12…

Only just got back to my wonderful simple life after finishing treatment for breast cancer and I go and fracture my left fibular, that was January 31st, been out of cast now for about 6 weeks. Today was my second slackline play day and its going well, slow but well. I’m very pleased that my body remembers the balance but my lower left leg, the proprioception still needs a little work and time. Weather was miserable today but despite UK weather I still got to go on the line, as I have one indoors … happy days!

Like all my other activities it’s not about goal setting but about finding my starting point, so today I put on the tunes, kept the doors open so my dogs could walk in out and keep me company, and I just played, didn’t take anything serious. Put my yoga mat out so I could mess about with some standing postures, play with handstands and managed to balance quite well for a nanosecond off the wall and in between all of that, found my starting place on the line.

I know its gunna be a long slow journey, but hay I got a life time, if I can beat breast cancer and at the same time, get to the other side of a broken bone, then I can do anything!

I’m experimenting with raw foods and this salad is delicious. I’ve had to make it a couple of times to get the quantities right for me and I’ve had to tweak the original recipe. Takes me about 30 minutes to prepare, can be stored in the fridge for at least 2 days so saves me money, is very nutritious and filling.

1. Toss carrots, mangetout, pineapple, raisins and spring onions together in a large bowl.
2. Place all dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour dressing over salad and mix through to coat all pieces.
4. It wouldn’t surprise me if anyone tries this recipe they will have to experiment and tweak it, but that’s half the fun, so enjoy.

This recipe was given to me by an old friend many many years ago. I used to make it for my kids when we did festivals, so that we didn’t need to worry about breakfast, they could grab a slice of this and get straight outside to play with other festie fairies. My kids, started calling it Poopoo Cake because its made with All-Bran cereal. Hubby loves this cake, its what he packs regularly in his lunch box for work.

Oven on to gas mark 5. Put All-Bran into a bowl add the milk alternative, leave and allow the All-Bran to soak up the milk and go all mushy. Once the All-Bran has gone mushy, stir in the flour, then the sultanas and finally the agave or equivalent. Place mixture into loaf tin and pop into middle oven for about an hour, depends really on your cooker. Best way to test is to stick a skewer in and if it comes out all clear then the Poopoo cake is done.

When cooked, take out of the oven, take out of the tin immediately, wrap in tin foil whilst the cake is still hot and put into a sealed plastic bag. Do not disturb the cake till cold, this will ensure it is moist.

So how you eat the Poopoo cake is entirely up to you. We prefer it plain but some of my friends like it with a vegan spread.

Energy (prana), sensations, consciousness and spiritual aura enter and leave our bodies through channels called nadis. The word nadis is made of two Sanskrit words ‘nad’ meaning hollow stalk and ‘nadis’ which literally means, to flow and so the nadis, are energy channels that exist in the astral body. There are 72,000 nadis but in relation to Kundalini, we focus on only three, Susumna, Ida and Pingala, and the chakras, which are energy centres located at specific areas of the body, along the length of the spine.

Susumna is the central nadis running up the length of the spine. Ida and pingala travel down the length of spine, some claim that these two nadi either run alongside susumna or they cross over susumna and back several times. Ida runs from the left nostril and is also known as ‘ha’ which conveys lunar, the cooling energy from the moon. Pingala runs from the right nostril and is known as ‘tha’ which conveys the sun and its energy, heat.

To help understand the nadis, the junctions and the energy centres, think of nadis as a network of roads. The roads (nadis) will cross through each other forming junctions and at the junctions located along susumna nadi, there are the chakras. The traffic on the roads (energy, sensations, consciousness in the nadis) needs to keep flowing, so that the traffic carrying the energy etc, that is needed in specific areas of the body, can get to destinations and what we don’t need any more, can be taken out of the body as efficiently as possible. Where the junctions are located, the roads (nadis) can become blocked and so cause congestion, resulting in restriction of pranic flow. A dedicated yoga practice and sattvic lifestyle will help to prevent these blockages and keep the prana, sensations, consciousness and spiritual aura free flowing.

Kundalini is represented as a coiled snake which is located in muladhara chakra at the base of the spine. Shakti is a Hindu religious concept that is of divine female power and creative energy, that is not just from the earth but resides in everything. Therefore, Kundalini Shakti (a psychospiritual concept) is located at the muladhara chakra and resides in us as a whole. An experienced and strong practice of asana, pranayama, daily dhyanam and sattvic lifestyle will help clear the mind, unblock nadis and unite Ha Tha (Yoga), giving a clear sight and true understanding of the mysterious Kundalini.

Very few yogis can make claim to having experienced what is known as a Kundalini rising, the uncoiling of the snake at the base of the spine or in other words the unblocking of the susumna nadis. It is believed that a Kundalini rising is very powerful and if the practitioner is not experienced and is not purified, the results could be catastrophic. Although a great deal of these beliefs are built on myth and superstition, in due respect of those beliefs, if one is choosing to focus on freeing the power of Kundalini rather than relating the power to being prana, then I would urge one to seek an experienced guru in Kundalini Yoga.

Let’s go back to the 3 nadis for a moment. Ida (ha) and Pingala (tha) have prana flowing through them, just not efficiently. Susumna is the central nadi in which concentrated prana is to flow, this concentrated prana is such that the effects can spread throughout the body so that no prana is lost outside of the body. What is stopping this concentrated prana from flowing freely? In my experience and from my studies, I believe we stop it, our state of mind stops it, without a clear mind we create the curling up of Kundalini and so blocking susumna. The more we can clear the mind, the less Kundalini blocks and prana can rise in susumna.

Oh my god, this is delicious. No matter what I smother with this, its wolfed down by kids and hubby, and anyone who has eaten this claims its better than what you get from a jar ..WINNER! Recipe is so easy, takes about 10 minutes, you cant fail.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until nuts are ground, I tend to drizzle the oil in rather than put everything in in one go. You don’t have to make the pesto smooth if you like it course then pulse the food processor rather than full pelt.

I cant take any credit for this recipe, I got it from the net and so sorry I cant remember exactly where. If I ever come across it again I will surely update this page and link to the original recipe.

Scrambled tofu is the food of the gods, my hubby, who is a fussy eater, loves this food and devoured the meal I put in front of him. I’ve copied the recipe exactly how I copied it, I’m just sorry I didn’t copy the link address.

My first attempt at vegan Thai Green Curry and like WOW! it tasted amazing, I wasn’t expecting that. So far to date, all of my experiments, the first one, usually tastes either ok or is horrible, so I was made up!

This recipe was shared with me by my mate Graham and Graham it works a treat mate, thank you so much!

Stir fry spring onions, one carrot, two sweet potatoes, plenty of garlic until softening. Add green curry paste, add two tins of coconut milk, stock cube or fresh stock if you have it and the tamari. Cover and simmer for ten minutes, remove from heat and mash veg into sauce with potato masher, leave to one side. Cut tofu into chunks and shallow fry on a high heat until browned all over. Put the rice on. Add sweet red peppers, chillies and tofu to the curry sauce, reheat just before rice is ready.